ARLINGTON — About Elvis Andrus’ Rangers Hall of Fame induction: What it lacked in antics, it made up for with love.
As soon as the crowd settled into its seats Saturday afternoon at Globe Life Field for the ceremony and a quiet settled over the crowd, a fan from the lower seating bowl bellowed: “We love you, Elvis.”
Without missing a beat, Master of Ceremony, Matt Hicks, replied: “We all love Elvis.”
And so it went. In-person tributes from Michael Young and Adrian Beltré acknowledged that, yes, Andrus could be playfully annoying, but focused on other aspects of his 12 years with the Rangers.
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Return of the King: See photos as Elvis Andrus is inducted into Rangers’ Hall of Fame 16 imagesView GalleryAdvertisement
“The first couple of days of my first spring training, I heard different guys, say ‘Elvis, shut up. And go away,'” Beltré said. “A couple of weeks later, I was the guy saying it.
“But I also learned that he’s a wonderful human being, great father and a great husband.”
And a pretty good player, too.
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Andrus was integral to the most sustained long-term era of success in Rangers history. From his rookie season through 2016, a span of eight years, the Rangers had only one losing season and didn’t play past Game 162 only twice.
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Between his MLB debut in 2009, two years after the Rangers acquired him as part of the package that sent Mark Teixeira to Atlanta, until he was traded to the Oakland A’s ahead of the 2021 season, Andrus played in the second-most games in franchise history (1,652), had the second-most hits (1,743) and set a franchise mark for steals with 305. His smile also ranked as either the all-time leader or tied with Pudge Rodriguez for pure wattage.
In addition to Beltré and Young, another 10 or so Rangers Hall of Famers or their family reps attended on Saturday. Also in attendance beyond Andrus’ wife, Cori, and three children (Elvis Jr., Lucia and Michael) were his mother, two brothers and several teammates from the 2010 team that was the first Rangers team to ever win a playoff series and the first to advance to the World Series.
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Andrus’ acceptance speech followed the pattern of Beltré’s speech at the National Baseball Hall of Fame last year. It was full of thank yous to family, God, scouts who saw him, players who mentored him, club officials and support staff.
And he left it with these words.
“Be happy. Be thankful. Be Joyful. And, most of all, be loved.”
Twitter/X: @Evan_P_Grant
Advertisement AdvertisementRelated StoriesRead MoreDave Parker, hard-hitting outfielder nicknamed ‘the Cobra,’ dies at 74Parker was set to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame next month.Watch: Elvis Andrus becomes 27th member of Texas Rangers Hall of FameAndrus was honored with a pregame ceremony laden with former teammates and fellow Rangers Hall of Famers.
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